When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.

Meditation in the midst of activity is a thousand times superior to meditation in stillness.

The sign of wisdom is constant joy.

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

True freedom is not the absence of commitment but the presence of choice.

Meditation is the road to happiness.

The superior person is like water, bringing benefit to all without competing.

The way is basically perfect. It is not a matter of practice or enlightenment.

The trouble is, you think you have time.

Liberation is not found by running away from our experience but by looking deeply into it.

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

Life is an art, and like perfect art it should be self-forgetting.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.

When mindfulness is weak, defilements are strong; when mindfulness is strong, defilements are weak.

Happiness is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you've got.

The way to change others' minds is with affection, and not anger.

Sticking with uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic—this is the spiritual path.

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

The practice of mindfulness begins in the small, remote cave of your unconscious mind and blossoms with the sunlight of your conscious life.

Those who know emptiness, know impermanence. Those who know impermanence, know non-self. Those who know non-self, know peace.

The path is the goal. Every step of the journey is the journey.

Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose.

Through understanding emptiness, one does not become proud of one's virtues, just as one does not become proud of building a castle in the sky.

The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.

The mind itself is the maker of all happiness and misery; yet beings do not understand this and blame external conditions.

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.

Genuine happiness comes from having developed basic human qualities, such as attention, emotional balance, and generosity.

When I run from suffering, it follows me. When I face suffering with equanimity, it runs from me.